But instead the tone was set on the very first play from scrimmage when the snap sailed over his head and into the end zone for a safety.

And Seattle never looked back, as it's all-conquering defence refused to allow number 18 any time in the pocket, while the Seahawks' secondary lived up to their Legion of Boom nickname by delivering punishing hits on any Denver receiver that dared catch the ball.

Two Seattle field goals followed the opening safety before Marshawn Lynch scored the game's first touchdown in the second quarter when he rumbled in from a yard out.

The walls then caved in for Denver, as Malcolm Smith - who was voted as the game's MVP - returned a Manning interception 69 yards for a touchdown and the Seahawks were 22-0 up at half-time.

Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly extinguished though, as Percy Harvin returned the second-half kick-off 89 yards for another touchdown.

A 23-yard Jermaine Kearse score followed before the Broncos finally got on the scoreboard with just under three minutes left in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to 36-8.

But Seattle had the final say when Doug Baldwin caught Russell Wilson's second touchdown pass of the evening as Denver looked to have given up.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll had his defence to thank for the comprehensive victory. They shocked Denver's record breaking offence into looking like a collection of also-rans, intercepting Manning twice and restricting the Broncos to just 27 rushing yards in one of the most dominant Super Bowl performances ever seen.